Start researching your new area or the country you are moving to. If you familiarise yourself with the local community or the new culture ahead of time, the move will be much smoother

3-4 weeks before your move

Confirm the date of the move with us

Arrange childcare for the moving day – Moving with children can be stressful, but there are ways to manage the impact on them. Although older children may well want to be involved in your move, and even help you pack and organise some things, you may decide that it will be less stressful for younger children if you arrange for them to go to relatives or friends on the moving day.

Make arrangements for moving your pets – Moving can be very disruptive for pets so you may want to also ask your vet for specialist advice on taking care of your animals during the move

Take a full inventory and start sorting out your belongings

Clear out unwanted belongings – Planning a fresh start in your new home is an ideal time to clear out any unwanted belongings. You can give these items to friends and family, give them away with Freecycle, or hold a garage sale. Local charity shops will also welcome smaller items such as books, ornaments, some furniture or clothing.

2 weeks before your move

Notify your essential service providers, banks, and any other financial institutions about your move

You will need to arrange for water, gas and electricity meter readings on the day of your move - make sure that all services are scheduled to be connected in your new home the day you move in

Have your telephone number transferred or changed

Arrange for broadband in your new home

Arrange for your post to be redirected – Contact Royal Mail if you want to have your post redirected

Organise the disconnection and reconnection of domestic appliances, such as your washing machine, cooker, and gas fires

Plan the moving day in detail

Decide how you are going to transport your valuable items, such as jewellery, money, antiques, and plants

Finalise everything with us - confirm arrival dates, addresses, and think about parking facilities for the removal van

1 week before your move

Finish packing all non-essential items and clean the house thoroughly

Check attic, garage, and basement for items you might have forgotten

Put all important documents in one box or bag which you will move yourself – this should include passports, driving licences, wills, birth certificates, insurance papers, cash and jewellery

Defrost and clean your fridge and freezer

Cancel any regular deliveries you have to your present home, like milk or newspapers

The day before you move

If you have ordered our professional packing service, you have to prepare some things to make the packing as fast as possible – You can usually leave drawers and trunks with their contents intact, provided there are no breakable items inside. If you do this, however, it is your responsibility to point out to the crew any drawers, wardrobes, cupboards, and other containers that have ‘out of sight’ items within.

Liquids, oils and paints must be placed into sealed containers. We cannot transport inflammable material, so dispose of these safely

Empty all bins; it is your responsibility to ensure that all bins are emptied of contents. Our removal crew can't carry any type of receptical containing refuse. This is particularly important when your goods are due to go into storage for a period of time.

Put together a 'do not remove pile' – Essential things that you do not want us to remove, such as snacks, handbags, or cleaning materials. Some people put everything into their bathtub and tell the removals crew not to pack anything in their bathtub. Wherever you put it, just be sure to let the guys know on the day what isn't to be packed!

Moving day

You can now leave the hard work to us, but there are a few essential things you will need to take care of:

Be present when the movers arrive and answer their questions when necessary

Check the condition of your belongings as they are being loaded

Perform final checks before leaving your home – Make sure that meter readings are taken, that water and power supply are turned off, and that doors and windows are closed

Make sure that you are not leaving anything behind - walk around your property, ideally with the foreman of our removal crew, to check that nothing has been overlooked

Drop keys at the estate agents if you need to

Pick up the keys for your new home, if you don't already have them

Make sure that you have exchanged contact numbers with our removal team, and arrange a time to meet them at your new home

When you walk into your new home, don't start unpacking right away. Give yourself some time to enjoy your new home, sit down and relax. The most stressful part of the move is over. Only start unpacking when you feel relaxed and energetic.

If you have requested an unpacking service, please assist the crew to ensure that items are placed in the appropriate rooms. You will need to place items such as clothes into wardrobes and cupboards.

Our removal crew will remove the majority of debris from packing materials, however if there is any left behind or you have asked to complete the unpacking yourself, please contact us via the number on side of the box and we will arrange for a convenient day to collect the materials so they can be recycled

How may we help with your removal?

Britannia Bradshaw International Removals & Storage can help your next move go smoothly. Contact us for a free, no obligation quote or call 0161 877 5555 (Manchester), 0121 504 0966 (Birmingham & Coventry) and speak with a removals specialist.

Our removal customer reviews

We are proud of the removals service we provide for our customers

Our removal and storage reviews are taken from our Customer Care Survey, which is sent to every customer after their move is completed.

Removal Service9.8 out of 10
based on 635 ratings (635 user reviews) as of 8 June 2018

Made a stressful experience not stressful at all

All three guys (Pete, Simon and Stephen) were fantastic super friendly, helpful and made a stressful experience not stressful at all. Good laugh whilst staying professional

Written by: Kim Frost

House Removal

Date published: 6/6/2018

10 / 10 stars

Was a pleasure to move

Recommended by a friend. All were absolutely excellent! A big thanks to the Friday crew who had to juggle two jobs as someone was injured so called in sick to work that morning - couldn’t fault them. Would highly recommend. Was a pleasure to move as a result - very little stress thanks to your team(s).

How can you improve perfection?

It was the most professional company. Truly efficient and very friendly. How can you improve perfection?

Written by: Ray Burnley

House Removal

Date published: 16/5/2018

10 / 10 stars

Value for money & exactly matched what we wanted

Value for money and exactly matched what we wanted. Great & pleasant bunch of guys, worked very hard

Written by: Mike Harrison

House Removal

Date published: 4/5/2018

10 / 10 stars

We couldn't have asked for a better service

Flyer through the door brought their services to our attention; friendly and helpful quotation process; generally the feeling that we were booking with an expensive but therefore reliable firm, to be trusted, rather than taking risks by booking a cheaper less reliable removals company. Also availability - they were able to fit our booking in at very short notice.

The guys were fantastic (Dave, Chris and Mickey) - we couldn't have asked for a better service. We were feeling incredibly stressed out by the legalities of our house move (which were still going on) and they took away all of the stress from the actual move itself. We are very grateful for their kind and efficient help with our move. We felt we were in safe hands! Please pass on our thanks.

Written by: Ellie Crompton

House Removal

Date published: 1/5/2018

10 / 10 stars

Competence, speed & patience

Haven't moved for 30 years, rather apprehensive but all done with competence, speed and patience!

Written by: Margaret Squires

House Removal

Date published: 17/4/2018

10 / 10 stars

You moved us last time and were great then, too

You moved us last time and were great then, too. Mark, Andy and Ryan were absolutely fantastic. Couldn't have been more helpful or courteous